Importing Into Zoho CRM

Importing Into Zoho CRM

Do you have a list in Excel that you would like to import into Zoho CRM? If your administrator has not restricted your ability to import, the process is fairly easy to accomplish, but understanding the options can make everything go smoother.

First you may need to prepare the spreadsheet
  1. Remove any extra rows from the top of the spreadsheet, like titles or blank lines. Row 1 should be the column headers. Row 2 should be where the data starts.
  2. Make sure that there is a column for any required fields and that it is populated. For example, if you are importing into Leads or Contacts, the “Last Name” field is required. Depending on how you set up your Zoho, “Account Name” may also be a required field. You can tell which fields are required by looking at any record in edit mode. Fields with a red underscore on labels are required. Any records in your spreadsheet that are missing a required field value will be skipped on import.
  3. If there are any date fields in your spreadsheet, make sure that you  format all date fields with a 4-digit year (mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm). Dates not formatted in this manner will not be imported. 
  4. If you want to assign to a user other than yourself, create a Record Owner column and enter the email address of the Zoho user to assign record ownership .

Now you are ready to import your data into Zoho CRM

  1. Click the module you wish to import into (e.g Leads or Contacts or Accounts. You cannot import into Activities, Quotes, Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, or Invoices).
  2. Click the  Import button at the top right of the module List view.
  3. Select the first option to  Import [module name]
  4. Click the  From File option (NOT "From other CRM’s")
  5. Click the  Browse button (or use the Drag and drop option) to search for and select the file to import. Click the  Open button
  6. Click the  Next button when the file has been uploaded successfully.
  7. If you have created multiple layouts for this module, use the drop-down to  Select layout to import to use for the import.
  8. Identify how to import the records from the spreadsheet file:
    • Add as new [module name] – Zoho will import the list as new records. If a record already exists in Zoho, it will be skipped.
    • Update existing [module name] only – Zoho will import the list and only update existing records based on the ‘Skip…’ field option you select. When you select this option, you many need to break up your import into multiple files with 5,000 or less records each.
    • Both – Zoho will import the entire list. If a duplicate record is found it will update the current record in Zoho. If the record is not found, a new record will be added.
  9. Then identify the matching field ( Find/Skip existing [module name] based on) by selecting an   option from the drop-down.
    • The first option will always be the  [module name] Id This is the system-generated ID that Zoho has defined for the record. You cannot see the ID in any view. You can only see this ID when you export the records. So, if you export the records in some way or do a bckup, and then update the field values in the spreadsheet, you can re-import the updated values into Zoho, matching on the module ID field.
    • Any other fields identified as ‘unique fields’ will be displayed. For example, the  Email  field might be listed for Leads or Contacts. The  Deal Name or  Product Name or  Account Name  fields will be unique identifiers offered for record matching in those modules (though you may want to be careful if you haven’t been strict about unique naming). If you created an Accounting ID for the Account records, you could import revenue values based on that field.  Unique fields are defined in Setup by selecting the field and editing the property to “Do not allow duplicate values”.
    • If you select  Update or  Both , you will see the option for  “Don’t update empty values for existing records ”. You will want to leave this one checked. For example, leaving it checked means that if the record has a Mobile Number and the file that you are importing has a Mobile Number column, but you don’t have anything in it for selected records, it won’t copy the blank field onto the field that has data. Sometimes you may want to wipe out old values, but usually you will want to keep it checked.
  10. Click  Next.
    • Column labels in the file will display in the left column. The fields defined for the module will be displayed in the second column.
    • Start by clicking the  Apply Auto Mapping hyperlink at the bottom left of the screen. Zoho will do it’s best to match what it thinks are the correct fields.
    • Review each of the selections in the second column for reasonableness. Use the drop-down to change any field links.
    • Click the  Unmapped button at the top of the screen to see any remaining file values that should be mapped. Use the drop-down to select the matching field.Map each of the  Fields in file to the  Fields in Zoho CRM .
    • Any required fields in the database will need to be matched before proceeding.
  11. Notes:
    • Whichever field you selected in step 9 above, you will be required to map that field.
    • If there are matching fields in the file, but you don’t want to use them to update any records in the CRM, don’t map them and those fields will remain untouched in Zoho.
    • When mapping the Owner field, if you followed the instructions a few pages back for ‘Assigning Record ownership’ to update that field with the email of the User, then you should select Owner – Email as well for the mapping.
  12. Once you have completed all the field mapping, click  Next .
  13. Click  Yes, Continue to confirm that you know that some fields may be left unmapped.
  14. Final Options
    • Assign Lead Source: This is only available in the Leads module. It allows you to select an option from the Lead Source picklist. Alternately, you could have created a column in your spreadsheet for Lead Source and filled in the values for all records prior to selecting the file for import.
    • Assign Owner : Select  Users option to select the desired user from the drop-down list. Select  Assignment Rule if you have created one. Assignment rules are good for assigning records based on conditions (State or Zip address fields, product interest fields, etc.). Or select  Field Mapping if you created a column in the spreadsheet and assigned ownership with the user’s email login.
    • Assign Tasks: You can select a Workflow Task to be launched against each record if you like. You can read more about creating Workflows in the Automation chapter. In the example above, a Task is created for each record in 3 days to follow up.
    • Add Tags : Add tag to each of the imported records.
    • Enable Manual Lead Approval option is only available when importing into the Leads module. If you check this option, an admin will need to manually assign users to each of the imported records.
  15. Click  Finish .
** For more great tips on preparing your spreadsheets   and getting your data ready for an import into Zoho, you can download a copy (below) of my 12-page guide that will help you get your data in shape.

Happy importing.

Susan Clark, Zoho CRM Certified Consultant, Authorized Zoho ONE Partner
Cornerstone Solutions www.zcrmhelp.com
susan@zcrmhelp.com


  

    • Recent Topics

    • Emails being blocked / spamcop

      Hello, I am unablr to send any single email during the whole time due to the Zoho IP 136.143.188.16 being blocked by SpamCop.net Please help on this.

    • Zoho IP blocked by SpamCop 136.143.188.16

      Hello, I am unble to send any single email during the whole time due to the Zoho IP 136.143.188.16 being blocjed by SpamCop.net Please help on this.

    • Is there a way to configure dark mode for Campaigns emails that go out to customers?

      I've found a lot of information on how to configure dark mode for my (The user) personal Zoho workspace and email, but is there any way to edit dark mode settings on emails that we send out to customers via campaigns?  We sent out a test email the other

    • Can I hide empty Contact fields from view?

      Some contacts have a lot of empty fields, others are mostly filled. Is there a way I can hide/show empty fields without changing the actual Layout? I would like to de-clutter my view, and also be able to add information later as I am able. I would be

    • Auto-publish job openings on my Zoho Recruit Careers Website

      I have developed a script using the Zoho Recruit API that successfully inserts new jobOpening records to my Zoho Recruit website, but my goal is to auto-publish to the Careers Website. The jobOpening field data shows two possible candidates to make this

    • Credit Card Terminal for Zoho Books

      Hello, Instead of punching the credit card number manually for customer payment, do you have a third-party hardware credit card reader that works with Braintree? Thank You

    • How do you print out the invoices comments

      I have some invoices where i need to print out the comments that show when reminders and etc were sent how do we print those out in Zoho Books.

    • Feature Request: Enable Custom PDF Layout Editor for All Modules (Including Package Slips)

      Hello Zoho Community and Product Team, I am writing to share a suggestion that would significantly enhance the customization capabilities within Zoho Books. We all appreciate the power of the Custom PDF Layouts (the "New" template engine) that allows

    • Need advice for product/item search functionality when adding invoices.

      My client uses "Catalog or Vendor" name and Product code to search for his items. But Zoho only allow to search by product name and SKU when adding items to Invoices/Estimates. Clients product codes are not unique as they may overlap from different catalogs/vendors.

    • How to dynamically pass IDs from one API response to a second API call in Zoho DataPrep?

      Hi Team, I am setting up a global consolidated reporting pipeline in Zoho Analytics (India) using Zoho DataPrep as the ETL engine. I am pulling data from multiple Zoho Books Data Centers (US, Singapore, India) thats why i used the URL Source (OAuth 2.0)

    • Feature Request: "Send Invitation" Toggle for Events

      I am writing to request a critical "Quality of Life" update for the Activities module. Currently, adding people to the Participants field in an Event triggers an automatic email invitation/acceptance tracking with no way to opt-out. For general events

    • Account Review Pending - Daily Limit 100

      Hi ZeptoMail Team, I'm writing to request a manual review of my account. I am currently stuck on the 100-email daily limit and cannot purchase credits. Status: My domain is already verified (DKIM/CNAME). Issue: The "Customer Validation" option is no longer

    • Automation Series: Move Tasks to a different Task List on Status Change

      In Zoho Projects, you can automatically move a task from one task list to another when its status is updated. This keeps your tasks organised and ensures better visibility while reducing manual work. For instance, during a product launch, the marketing

    • Introducing Bigin's all new integration with Microsoft Teams

      Picture this: You are on call with your team to discuss some important deals that need to be closed soon. While discussing each deal, your team has to switch back and forth between your Teams account and Bigin account to refer to details about the deal.

    • Scaling the customer journey: What's new in CommandCenter

      Dear Customers, The last time we connected about CommandCenter, it was about the tool's new controls and revamped UI. Personally, the overhaul of the UI from the last update, still excites me. Today, we're here with news about its scalability and added

    • Adjusting Physical Inventory

      Not getting very far with support on this one, they say they are going to fix it but nothings happened since November. Please give this a thumbs up if you would like to see this feature or comment if you have some insight. Use Case: Inventory set to be

    • Dynamic Remaining Quantity in Lookup During Allocation

      Hi everyone, From what I understand in Zoho Creator, lookup fields only display the stored value from the source record and do not dynamically update while a form is being filled. Because of this, showing a real-time updated remaining quantity inside

    • Is it possible to use HTML formatting in SMS messages sent from Zoho?

      Hi everyone, I have a question regarding sending SMS from Zoho When we send emails from Zoho, we can include HTML code to format the message (like adding links, styling, etc.). Is it possible to do something similar when sending SMS messages through Zoho

    • Important update: Migrate to the new SalesIQ live chat widget before April 14, 2026

      The old SalesIQ live chat widget will be deprecated on April 14, 2026. This is a final reminder to migrate to the new SalesIQ live chat widget before this date. After April 14, 2026, the old widget will no longer be maintained, which can lead to slower

    • If your IM chats aren’t auto-assigning, here’s what to check

      Hey everyone! We’ve been seeing quite a few questions around Instant Messaging (IM) Chat Routing in Zoho Desk, especially around how it actually behaves in real time. So I thought I’d share a practical breakdown of what’s happening behind the scenes.

    • connect zoho creator with google drive

      Hello everyone, I need to connect to a folder drive. The idea, is that google drive loads a text document with some data, I must read that text document to be able to autofill a form that I have in zoho creator with that data. I also attach PDFs and place

    • Uploaded files are not included when using "Include user submitted data" in Email Notification

      In Send Email notification workflow in Zoho Creator, there is an option called "Include user submitted data" which allows the email to contain all the form submission details. However, when this option is enabled, files or images uploaded through File

    • Extend Zoho Canvas Customization to Zoho Creator Forms and Reports

      Currently, Zoho Canvas allows users to design and customize the UI of Zoho CRM modules with a much better visual experience. This helps organizations create cleaner layouts, improve usability, and design interfaces that match their workflows. However,

    • Kanban View for Projects.

      At our organization, we describe active projects with various statuses like "In Proofing" or "Printing" or "Mailing". In the Projects view, one can set these project statuses by selecting from the appropriate drop-down. While this works, it's difficult to view and comprehend the progress of all of your projects relative to each other in a table. Creating a Kanban view for projects where I can move them from one status to another allows me to see where each project is in the order of our workflow.

    • Button ''I'm Interested'' won't translate

      Since our main platform is in French, I would like to get this ''I'm Interested'' button translated to French ''Je suis intéressé''. We managed to translate the whole carreer site in French, except the button. How come ? We have a standard subscription,

    • Feature request - image resizing on sales orders

      I need to be able to show the items on the sales orders, currently the item image shows really small and no way to resize it, need the ability to make the image larger to showcase the product on the pdfs

    • ZOHO.CRM.UI.Record.open not working properly

      I have a Zoho CRM Widget and in it I have a block where it will open the blocks Meeting like below block.addEventListener("click", () => { ZOHO.CRM.UI.Record.open({ Entity: "Events", RecordID: meeting.id }).catch(err => { console.error("Open record failed:",

    • Email Parser Not Extracting Fields Correctly with Certain Label Formats

      I’ve been testing the Email Parser functionality in Zoho CRM to automatically extract data from incoming emails and map it to CRM fields. During testing, I noticed that parsing sometimes fails when the email contains field labels formatted like this:

    • Zoho CRM Community Digest - February 2026 | Part 1

      Hello Everyone! February has been off to a productive start in the Zoho CRM Community, with several thoughtful product enhancements and helpful technical discussions making their way into the forums. To help you stay up to speed, we’ve rounded up the

    • Nouvelle fonctionnalité : donnez du style à vos pages avec le Branding

      Que vous prépariez un webinaire important. Vous avez investi du temps dans votre contenu, invité des intervenants de qualité, et les inscriptions commencent à affluer. Mais votre page d’inscription ? Elle ressemble à toutes les autres : générique, sans

    • How to sync Zoho CRM Quotes with Zoho Books/Finance Estimates or Quotes

      Hi everyone, We’re building quotes in the Zoho CRM Quotes module because of its strong CPQ features and better communication options (multiple contacts, email customization, etc.). However, these don’t sync directly with Zoho Books/Finance for invoicing.

    • Marketing Tip #24: Encourage customers to leave reviews

      Reviews are one of the strongest trust signals in ecommerce. When shoppers see real feedback from other customers, they feel more confident about buying, especially when they’re choosing a brand for the first time. Not all reviews are equal. Detailed

    • Ability to Attach Record-Specific Files Automatically in Workflow Email Templates

      Currently in Zoho CRM, email templates allow attachments to be added, but these attachments are static and remain the same for every recipient. There is no straightforward option to automatically attach a file that is stored within the specific CRM record

    • This version of app doesn't support this notecard type Error

      So this problem is happening for any notes created within the last week, as well as any note recently edited on Android. I can open them on my phone fine, but they don't open on the website version. They DO work on the desktop app version. It's just web

    • Issue with Picklist Dropdown Not Opening on Mobile

      Hello I am experiencing an issue with picklist values on mobile. While the arrow is visible, the dropdown to scroll through the available values often does not open. This issue occurs sporadically, it has worked occasionally, but it is very rare and quite

    • {Action Required} Re-authenticate your Google Accounts to Continue Data Sync

      Hello Users! To align with Google’s latest updates on how apps access files in Google Drive, we’ve enhanced our integration to comply with the updated security and privacy standards, ensuring safer and more reliable access to your data. With this update,

    • Allocating inventory to specific SO's

      Is there a way that allocate inventory to a specific sales order? For example, let's say we have 90 items in stock. Customer 1 orders 100 items. This allocates all 90 items to their order, and they have a back order for the remaining 10 items which could

    • Is this a SCAM email or is it really Zoho?

      L.S. I received the following message. Is this from Zoho? I have had a Zoho One account for many years and my website has been online for years. If it is a scam, I think you should know about it.

    • How to close an estimate ?

      Hello, I have created estimates, and converted them to invoices to get 50% payment. Now I have 2 cases where the estimate stills shows status partially invoiced, however: 1. for one of them, project stopped half way, so the remaining part will never be

    • Updating Analytical Fields Data

      Dear Zoho team, I'm having an issue with the recently added fields in both Analytical Desk and Analytical. How can I generate the data in Analytical when new fields are added? https://analytics.zoho.com/workspace/2436819000000007005/edit/24368190000

    • Next Page